Eternity
by webofdreams89
Summary: My version of how the Key should have ended. I thought it was abrupt and needed a bit more 'something.'


**_This is just my version of how I would have liked the Key to have ended. I'm not a big Rochelle fan but I didn't think she deserved to die! I guess you could either view this as an extension to the original story or as a short sequal of what happends to Rochelle and Ethan. I hope you enjoy:_**

Eternity

I felt the arrow pierce slip between two of my ribs and pierce my heart. Man, it hurt like hell. Even then, I knew I didn't have long left on this plane of existence. I was only worried about one thing and that was Ethan. He was the sole important thing in my life so I didn't regret my decision in the slightest. I did it for him and I'd do it again a thousand times if I had to.

"Rochelle!" he screamed, catching me as I fell to the ground. The look of horror in his eyes as he spotted the arrow protruding from my chest will always haunt me. "Rochelle!" he screamed again.

I reached up and touched his face, my strength already wavering. "Safe. You're safe," I said to him. My last words.

Tears streamed down his face as he shook his head in denial. "Nooooo!" he screamed as my eyes closed for the last time.

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I awoke in a long tunnel of sorts formed from the smoothest granite I've ever seen, with dim lighting and thick fog floating close to the ground. Upon closer inspection, I could see the tunnel was lined with doors, hundreds of door every shape and color.

"Hello?" I called, scanning the tunnel for life. "Is anyone out there?" I jogged down the tunnel a ways, not coming upon any form of life. "Hello?"

_The hell with it,_ I thought, putting my hand on a knob I chose at random. I heard a voice from behind me say, "That isn't your door, Rochelle."

Whipping around, I saw that it was Ethan's older, Sera. Having never actually met her before, I assumed it was she because there was really no one else it could be. And she looked just like him. Long, curly black hair and bright blue eyes, yep, the same eyes. She was definitely a beautiful child.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Can you see your name written on it?"

"No, but I don't see anyone's name written on it."

"That's because you can only see _your_ name. Besides, you'll be with the rest of the us, the fallen members of the Guard. Though I never actually got the chance to join..."

"Okay," I said, confused.

"Follow me," she said, continuing down the hall. Turning her face back towards me and giggling, she asked, "Is my brother a good kisser?"

I felt my face redden instantly. Looking at my toes, I mumbled something that resembled, "Yeah, he is," causing her to laugh harder.

"Don't be ashamed. It is in the nature of humans to kiss. I just wish I had gotten a kiss. Ethan's friend Dillon sure is cute..."

Sometimes she sounded so like the adult she never got to be and others she sounded like the little girl she'll remain forever. I guess that's how it is at the age of ten. It struck me suddenly how much Sera had missed out on, never having the chance to do something as simple and common as kissing a boy you like. Sure, I'm young and dead, too, but Sera was only ten when she died.

"Dillon, huh?" I discovered it _is_ possible to make a ghost blush. Before, when I did, I didn't know if I actually blushed or not. And we weren't exactly ghosts either. I wasn't sure what we were exactly. We looked solid and could touch things without passing through them as I demonstrated with the wrong doorknob.

Trying to hide her embarrassment, she quickly led to the Guard's door. On it, written in a silver cursive scrawl, was my name. "Do you see your name too?"

She nodded. "But I haven't been through it yet."

"Then how do you know it's for the Guard?"

"I saw Lorian go through it."

"But why haven't you gone through it yet? You've been dead for years..."

"Yes, but I didn't leave the Underworld until recently, and... Well... I've been afraid to go alone. I didn't want to go with Lorian either. He kind of scares me."

"You were waiting for me?"

"Yes," she replied, "I was."

"So, did you know I was going to die?"

"I did. That's why I waited for you."

A determined look crossed her face. Grabbing my hand, she opened the door and we were immediately sucked inside. I didn't even have time to admit that I, too, was scared as to what we would find on the other side of the door.

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We landed as smoothly as if we had been placed on the ground by an invisible giant hand. "Welcome Rochelle, welcome Sera," a voice said from behind us, startling me. I turned around and saw that the voice belonged to a beautiful woman with copper hair dressed in a long white robe, much like a Grecian toga. "I am Cordelia, and this is the registration desk for Afterlife, level 1 for those with powers, members of the Guardians of Time and member of the Order of Chaos."

"The Order is here too?" I asked incredulously.

"I saw Lathania go through the door too," Sera whispered to me.

Looking around, this place could only be described as paradise. White beaches, palm trees, cute lifeguards (why, I wondered, were lifeguards needed when the only swimmers were dead). It was hard to imagine the Order deserving of beach lounging for all eternity.

"Of course," Cordelia replied as if I said the most ridiculous thing in the world. "We do not judge here. Everything from earth has been left behind once you set foot in Level 1."

"If this is Level 1, then what's Level 2?" Sera asked.

"I don't actually know, I haven't been there yet," Cordelia replied stiffly.

"Do you know how one gets to Level 2?" I asked her.

"That I do know. Level 1 is like a waiting place for souls. The first one to die in a set of soul mates waits here for the other to catch up with them. Then, together, they move on to Level 2. I've only been dead approximately a year in earth time, so my soul mate hasn't had a chance to..._catch up_ yet."

"Okay," I said. This place didn't seem that bad of a place to wait for Ethan.

"Do you know who my soul mater is?" Sera asked timidly.

"I'm afraid I don't. You'll know him the very second he steps foot in Level 1, though. So don't fear, you weren't forgotten. Now, let's get on with registration. Sera, you've been dead longer? Full name?"

"Sera Annette Roberts," she said, obviously relieved to find out she _did_ have a soul mate out there somewhere. I somehow doubted she would have been able to come here if she hadn't had a soul mate.

"Cause of death? Time of death? Date of birth?" and on and on questions of the like were asked. Finally, it was my turn.

"Rochelle Celeste Thallimar."

When the interrogation was over, Cordelia directed us to a man by the name of George. He was a handsome guy in his late twenties with classic California surfer good looks, bright blond hair and sky blue eyes.

"I'll show you to your cabin," he said. Cordelia gave him a look that read _get a move on! We have more dead coming, you know!_

We followed him across the beach. "Is she always like that?" Sera asked George.

"Cordelia? Don't let her bother you. Her bark is worse than her bite. She's actually pretty cool once you get to know her."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it," Sera said, obviously rolling her eyes.

Along the way, we saw the bickering siblings Lorian and Lathania.

"If I hadn't died, I would have won, hands down!"

"No you wouldn't have! I soooo would have won! I was born first so I would have won!"

Immortals...

Our cabin was nice with two separate bedrooms, a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a living room. Things such as eating and sleeping weren't necessary, but most still did them anyway. I guess it was the same with the lifeguards; people just felt more comfortable with them there.

Sera adapted to the afterlife very well. She had a blast, trying all the things she never had a chance to do on earth. I, on the other hand, couldn't help but hold on to the life I left behind. Especially Ethan.

I thought of him often, wondering how he was coping, wondering if he was coping at all. A little of my usual self-conscious nature questioned whether Ethan really loved me or not, but my confidence in him always won out in the end. Ethan wasn't the type to kiss and girl and tell her he loves her if he didn't mean it. I knew he loved me; it shone in his eyes as I died.

Sitting on the beach one night, contemplating the life I left behind, George approached me. He sat down next to me and asked, "You're not happy here, are you?"

"No," I said honestly, watching the gentle waves roll up the shore.

"Nearly everyone here is happy, waiting for their soul mates to return to them. The paradise appeal helps ease the pain of separation and, in nearly every case, it does. But not yours."

"It seems that way," I said in agreement.

"You know, the dead can do nearly anything they want," George stated pointedly, looking at me with a crooked smile.

I let the words absorb. "Anything?"

"_Nearly _anything."

"So if I said I want to so Ethan, you'd say..."

"I'd say 'follow me' " Getting up from the sand, he led me to a small building with large octagonal windows on each of the four sides.

I knew death was irreversible. No matter how much I wanted to live again, I accepted that I would not. Seeing Ethan was the next best thing.

Inside the building was a window suspended in midair by a mahogany frame.

"What do I have to do?"

"This is a window of time; you can look into the future, past, or present. Just walk up to it and tell it what you want to see. But..." he trailed off.

"But what?" I asked.

"Are you _sure_ you want to see? It might break your heart."

"I have to."

He nodded and stepped out of the building to give me privacy. I walked up to the window and ran my fingers lightly over the frame. My hands told me the wood was old, even ancient and, for once, my powers failed to tell me where the wood actually came from.

The glass of the window was transparent right now, but when I whispered, "Show me Ethan," an image projected upon it.

It was of the Angel Falls cemetery. The sky was cloudy and it was raining. Ethan, wearing a black suit and tie, was kneeling before a fresh grave. It took me a moment to realize that it was _my _grave. That kind of threw me because the death-thing was still so new and a grave is so _final._

Ethan's handsome face was molded into the model of agony. His eyes were red and swollen and I could see he was crying even now.

George was right; it did break my heart to see him that way.

I stepped back quickly, tears welling up in my own eyes. For the next few hours, I watched Ethan closely, seeing that he wasn't taking care of himself, not eating, hardly sleeping, refusing to see his friends and family. He just stayed planted at my grave. I was horrified at how he was living, which technically wasn't living at all because that would involve feeling something. Ethan was numb.

"George?" I asked. He was sitting on the beach reading a book.

"Yes?" he asked, looking up from the book. I saw that it was The Count of Monte Cristo, one of my favorite books.

"Ethan's going to kill himself living the way he is," I began.

"If he dies, the two of you will be reunited faster," he pointed out.

"I know, but I want him to _live._ I want him to live for the both of us."

"There is a way..."

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I watched Ethan through the window for the rest of the day, until he finally went home. When I was sure he was soundly asleep, I went back to the cabin. Sera was there waiting for me.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready," I said.

"Just one more thing," she began. "Tell my brother that he's stupid for throwing his life away. Some of us would love to live again. And... Tell him I love him."

I nodded. With that, she put her hands on my temples and closed her eyes. If she had lived, one of the talents she would have developed was the ability to transport herself (and others) into another's dreams. This was how she eventually got in contact with Isabel when she was in the Underworld, after she couldn't get through to her mom and her brother.

And this was what she was doing then.

I felt my spirit, or soul, or whatever was left of me, leave this plane of existence and travel a great distance. I knew that I was in Ethan's dream when I saw the moment of my death with Ethan cradling my limp body.

"No, Rochelle, no," he sobbed. It wasn't a dream; it was a nightmare.

"Ethan," I said. He looked up incredulously, glancing from my dead body to the me standing before him.

"You're not dead." His voice was full of wonder and amazement. He dropped the dead me and walked, somewhat dreamlike, over the 'real' me.

"Yes, Ethan, I am. This is a dream."

He stood before me, taking me into his arms. He kissed me, gingerly at first, but then with a heated passion that made my semi-corporal dream-toes curl. It was wonderful to be held by Ethan again, even if it _was_ just a dream.

I knew that I had to do what I came to do. Otherwise I would melt completely and Ethan would still whither away.

I pulled away, cupping his face with my hands. "Listen to me, Ethan. I _am_ dead. This is a dream, but I really am here with a little help from Sera. She says she loves you, by the way."

He shook his head. "I don't understand."

Slightly frustrated, I said, "I trying to save you, Ethan."

"Save me from what?"

"From yourself. You're destroying yourself. You're not eating and you're just plain not taking care of yourself."

"_So? _I just want to be with you again," he said, hugging me close. He smelled really good, but I couldn't let myself get distracted.

"You will be, someday. But you're needed on earth right now. Besides, you can't let your parents lose another child, can you?" I asked, feeling slightly guilty for laying such a thick guilt-trip.

He muttered a barely audible, "No."

"When you die, you're not _really_ gone. I'm in a place where I'll wait for you until it's your time, but until then, you have to live."

"But I don't want to live without you, Rochelle."

"I know, but you have to. You have so much good to do in the world yet. If you die now, so will hundreds. It's up to you and your work in the Guard to save them." Another guilt-trip. "So I want you to promise me that you won't kill yourself, get someone else to kill or hurt you, or hurt yourself in any way, shape, or form. Promise me you'll live."

"I-" he began.

"Promise me, Ethan."

He nodded solemnly. He couldn't very well deny his dead girlfriend/ soul mate. "I promise."

With a final kiss, we parted.

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I didn't see Ethan again until he was seventy-eight years old. When he arrived, however, he didn't look any older than the day we first kissed. His eyes glowed with happiness when they saw me.

Hand-in-hand, we 'moved on' together, soul mates finally reunited for eternity.

**_Please review!!! I love to know what people think of my stories!!_**

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